DFA Urges Filipinos To Be Ready To Leave Afghanistan When Opportunity Comes
DFA URGES FILIPINOS TO BE READY – As the Taliban continues to take over Afghanistan, Filipinos are told to remain vigilant.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Filipinos in Afghanistan need to “remain ready to move when opportunities to leave arise”. Furthermore, Assistant Secretary Eduardo Meñez of the DFA said the embassy in Islamabad already has already communicated with Filipinos who gave their contact details.
Meanwhile, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Hans Leo Cacdac highlighted how the DFA are making ways to get Filipinos in Afghanistan repatriated. However, with regards to news about a Philippine Airlines Flight that “has not yet been able to fly to Afghanistan”, the DFA said that it was “misleading”.
Based on an article from ABS-CBN, Meñez stated:
Just to address the somewhat misleading banner from Police Files Tonite – PAL has not yet been able to fly to Afghanistan, but we are also coordinating with all flights allowed to fly out of Kabul
Currently, an Alert Level 4 is raised in Afghanistan over the weekend following the Taliban’s occupation of key areas such as its capital of Kabul. With this Alert Level active, the Philippines will undergo mandatory evacuation for all Filipinos in the area.
As per the article, an estimated 132 Filipinos were residing in the area during the time of the crisis. But, according to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, OFWs working in Afghanistan were considered as “undocumented”.
He explained that the Philippines had no existing labor agreements with the country. However, he noted that the government would assist them when they return to the Philippines.
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